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Dealing with a Frustrating Day

Whether you’re new to sobriety of have been sober for years, you will have days when nothing goes according to plan. Not only that, but nothing goes right at all. The refrigerator quits on a really hot day, you come out of your place of work or home and discover you have a flat tire, the person who was going to drive you to your AA or NA meeting has had a relapse, or you forget your grocery list and are having some neighbors over for dinner. A list of daily frustrations can continue around the block.

Life is unpredictable and the less you try to think you have control over it, the better. Frustrating days, are just that—frustrating days, no more. Don’t dive in! You can blow things way out of proportion, because of your personality or stress level, but in doing so, your aren’t effectively serving your needs.

When frustrations begin to mount up on any given day, you can alleviate the tension by naming it—today is one of those frustrating days. By naming the frustration you can then put the energy you’ve given it into positive action. First of all, you can accept the fact that things are going haywire today. You’re not going to get accomplished what you had planned. When things don’t go according to our plans we need to accept the fact. Sure, it’s normal to get mad in the moment, but remember to acknowledge it’s not the end of the world, and then taking action. I’m not going to get home in time to let the Fido out. I’ll look at appliances on the website tonight, Maybe I can ask my neighbor if I can store some of my frozen foods in his freezer.

Your frustration can stem from being stuck in traffic for hours at the beginning of vacation. In addition to acceptance, there’s not much you can do about the traffic. You can, however, work on lowering our nervous system. Simply slowing down your breathing can help ease stress. There’s also Two to One Breathing, whereby you take in two breaths to the count of two, and exhale to the count of four.

Another technique to alleviate feelings of frustration is to do the butterfly hug. Cross your arms in front of you and hug yourself. Then with each hand, gently and slowly move them up and down as if patting your arms, alternating between the two. See how this simple action can help make you feel more calm.

If you someone you know is struggling with drugs and alcohol, Serenity Oaks Wellness Center can help to get you sober. Our 12-Step aspects and holistic therapy can show you how to adorn your soul in recovery.